Stirling engines which are not of the free piston type require a mechanism which links a crankshaft to the reciprocating power piston and displacer piston. Conventional connecting rods have long been used which directly connect the crank throw pin to the wrist pin of the reciprocating pistons.
While such a conventional linking mechanism provides the proper relative phasing between the power piston and the displacer piston, it also applies major side loads to these pistons. Major side loading occurs because the motion of the crank throw pin is circular and therefore its component of motion which is coaxial with the pistons is equal to its component of motion which is perpendicular to the axis of the pistons.
Others have suggested linking mechanisms for connecting the rotating crank to the reciprocating power and displacer pistons. While such mechanisms reduce side loads, they are complicated and require a significant number of links and/or bearings.
There is therefore a need for, and it is an object of the present invention to provide, a linking mechanism which can maintain the proper phase relationship between two reciprocating bodies, such as the pistons of a Stirling machine, while providing side forces which are substantially less than those applied by a conventional crank and connecting rod mechanism and yet which is a relatively simple mechanism in that it requires relatively few links and bearings compared to the number of links and bearings required by other mechanisms used for a similar purpose.